More than 40% of assessed homes below EPC C with work due to cost landlords £9.9 billion
40.2% of homes assessed in England and Wales in the year to June 2026 were below EPC band C. The government estimates the cost to landlords of getting privately rented homes up to band C by 2030 will be £9.9 billion. The average expected cost per property is £5,387, capped at £10,000.
We split the latest MHCLG figures by all 317 local authorities and by region, and put them on a map so you can see the situation in your area:
https://vantage.rent/research/epc-below-band-c
The East Midlands is the worst region: 45.5% of homes assessed there were below a C rating. South West 44.4%. West Midlands and Yorkshire both 43.9%. Wales 42.2%. London is at 34.3%. The North East is at 34.1%.
At the district level, it gets even worse. Tandridge is at 63.5%. Westmorland and Furness 62.2%. North Norfolk 61.2%. Gwynedd 58.8%. A string of rural and coastal councils sit above 50%: Cornwall, East Lindsey, King’s Lynn, Carmarthenshire, South Hams. This is older, solid-walled, hard-to-heat stock, and a lot of it is in places with thin contractor markets, where the £10,000 cap will not stretch as far.
With net rental yields having fallen by 50 – 70% over the last decade, can landlords be reasonably expected to swallow this additional cost? For many, it’s the necessary lesser of two evils: the penalty for letting a non-compliant property is up to £30,000. For others, it could be the final straw.
With the next quarterly data update due in late October, it will be interesting to see how the picture develops.
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Member Since November 2025 - Comments: 19
11:16 AM, 27th August 2026, About 16 hours ago
I am a residential landlord with several ex council flats that have an EPC rating below C. They are going to be tricky to upgrade, though I have some ideas. However, when councils, as freeholders, do the upgrades that they will also be legally required to do on the same buildings so that flats still in council ownership become compliant, will I get a double whammy by having to pay for their improvements on the service charges? Will the £10,000 ceiling provide me with any protections?
Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 3291 - Articles: 81
12:23 PM, 27th August 2026, About 15 hours ago
Reply to the comment left by Simon Kinzley at 27/08/2026 – 11:16
Similar here, I’m selling most of my houses, but I was gonna’ keep my 4 council flats, if only when Govt come to say EPC C please, I can say not my job, go see the Council. I’ve got new boiler & windows, rest is Councils.
Member Since February 2024 - Comments: 68
7:07 PM, 27th August 2026, About 8 hours ago
Is it just me, or do we not actually know what the requirements actually are yet, and if they will change, especially if we get a new government or we see a walk back of policy like we have with the car industry??
Member Since November 2025 - Comments: 19
8:24 PM, 27th August 2026, About 7 hours ago
Reply to the comment left by Disillusioned Landlord at 19:07
My understanding is that if we upgrade now before the new EPC regime comes into force we do know and will have valid certificates for ten years. However, if we wait for the new system we don’t know because the idiots who “govern” us aren’t giving us sufficiently detailed advance notice of what will be in the regulations.
Another thing to consider is that in properties where we are the leaseholders, we cannot touch the exteriors of the properties. For some rooms in HMOs internal insulation on walls could be a real problem because there is a risk of reducing rooms below the legal minimum room size of 6.51 square meters, so to comply with one law you break another.
I am also looking at ceiling insulation for some flats in council freeholds, but it’s going to be a real pig of a job. First you need someone lying on his/her back on a raised platform to drill loads of little holes so you can attach a criss cross of struts which you need to securely screw on the insulation. Then you can insulate. The problem then is that many council blocks have poorly maintained flat roofs that are prone to leaks. With the insulation, you may not spot the leaks for some time or until the structure becomes sodden and falls on the poor tenants heads. Piss ups in breweries methinks.